It’s Always Been the Ruling Class Against the Citizen Class

Cultural elites have always had a sneering contempt for ordinary folk. There has always been a division between what I call the ruling class, the elites who hold the levers of political power, and the citizen class, the ordinary citizens who make this country work.

This is true whether the elites are in academia, where liberal commencement speakers outnumber conservatives by at least a 7-1 margin. Or in Hollywood, where conservatives find themselves as blacklisted as communists in the 1950s.

Or in religion, where the oh-so-superior mainline denominations proudly trumpet their support for all things homosexual, looking down their elitist noses at hick, backwoods Southern Baptists who hold faithful to biblical standards.

Or in the media, where a Bob Schieffer blasts Tony Perkins with thinly disguised condescension for leading what a discredited viper’s nest of mean-spirited liberals call a “hate group.”

Or in politics, where the anointed fancy themselves so elevated in intelligence and smarts that they are entitled to make all important decisions for the great unwashed (that’s you and me), including what kind of sludge our kids will eat at our schools, what kind of fuel we must put in our cars, what kind of light bulbs we must burn in our homes, and eventually how much carbon dioxide we will be allowed to exhale.

This same exact arrogance was on display in the time of Jesus. When the cultural elites of Jesus’ day sent ordinary cop-types out to arrest Jesus, the cops came back empty-handed, with the explanation that “no one ever spoke like this man.” Even though they were ordinary men they recognized that when they listened to Jesus they were listening to someone of extraordinary presence and insight.

But it mattered not to the scribes and Pharisees, the elite politicians of Jesus’ day, who backhandedly dismissed the reaction of the officers. “Have you (cretins) also been deceived? Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him?” (John 7:48).

In other words, it did not matter to them what the truth was, it did not matter to them who Christ was, or whether he revealed mysteries concealed since the dawn of time. No, all that mattered to them is what they and their fellow cultural elites thought inside their self-enclosed little bubbles. If the smartest people in the room rejected Christ and his teaching, then only rubes and dullards could possibly take him seriously.

The point here is quite simple. We have always had this division in society, between our self-appointed overlords, who see themselves as our superiors in education and intelligence, and ordinary citizens who can see the truth because they are not blinded by a slavish loyalty to elitist opinion and what the “authorities” believe.

This is true in matters great and small. Cultural elites despise Christianity and its Savior. We members of the citizen class worship Christ as the Lord of the universe. Cultural elites believe man evolved from swamp creatures. We believe man was created by God and in His image. Cultural elites believe that man is a noxious weed on planet earth. We believe man is God’s vice-regent with authority over all creation to steward it for human benefit.

And here’s the kicker. The ordinary folk were right in Christ’s day, and their cultural “betters” were wrong. And the same is true today.

The ruling class is wrong about Christianity, Scripture, the Constitution, evolution, environmentalism, abortion, marriage, and government. The citizen class I’m a part of is right on all these things. Long live the citizen class.

(Unless otherwise noted, the opinions expressed are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Family Association or American Family Radio.)

Bryan Fischer is the Director of Issue Analysis for Government and Public Policy at the American Family Association, where he provides expertise on a range of public policy topics. Described by the New York Times as a "talk-radio natural," he hosts the "Focal Point" radio program on AFR Talk,which airs live on weekdays from 1-3 p.m. Central on American Family Radio's nationwide talk network of 125 stations.
A graduate of Stanford University and Dallas Theological Seminary, Bryan pastored in Idaho for 25 years, during which time he served for one session as the chaplain of the Idaho state senate. He founded the Idaho Values Alliance in 2005, and is a co-author of Idaho's marriage amendment. He has been with AFA since 2009.
In his role as a spokesman for AFA, he has been featured on media outlets such as Fox News, CBS News, NBC, CNN, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the BBC, Russia Today television and the Associated Press, has been a frequent guest on talk radio to discuss cultural and religious issues. He has been profiled in publications such as the New York Times, Newsweek, the New Yorker, and BuzzFeed. He has been married to his bride, Debbie, since 1976, and they have two grown children.

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